Insecticides and Pesticides

When describing hemp, the 2005 Stockholm Environment Institute called it a robust “low maintenance crop requiring low inputs, including agro-chemicals… and it has to date not been plagued by pests.” Similarly, the Journal of the International Hemp Association in 1997 highlighted studies that suggest cannabis plants are natural pest repellents that “deter insects, nematodes, fungi and weedy plants” and kill and/or repel mites, weeds, fungi, bacteria and protozoans. Hemp essentially acts as its own pesticide, herbicide and fertilizer, and it can pull unhealthy toxins from the soil. By simply utilizing hemp in crop rotation practices, the plant can improve the soil and help farmers more effectively grow other crops. By comparison, cotton plants grow on three percent of all crop-based land, but they receive 35 percent of the world’s insecticides and pesticides.